We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Continue' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Dr Robson’s interview features in the episode on iron, and her explanation of haemachromatosis is particularly personal to presenter Dr Andrew Pontzen: this health conditions runs in his family, and his mother is affected by it.

Excessively high levels iron has a number of effects, including an increased risk of liver cancer, and Dr Robson highlights that the since the body cannot actually excrete iron, donating blood can therefore be a simple and successful treatment for haemochromotosis (if there are no other issues with the donor’s health).

Dr Robson also explains how only about 10-20% of the people carrying two copies of the mutation linked to haemochromatosis actually go on to develop the condition, with the percentage even lower for women: the process of having regular monthly periods and carrying children effectively ‘mops up’ some of the excess iron, and women therefore only tend to develop the condition after menopause.